Mate IF you reckon Thomas markedly improved Riewoldt beyond what he was always gonna be as a player and want to compare him to Caydn Beetham - your beyond help.OLB wrote:Rubbish.Teflon wrote:Riewoldt, Ball, Dal Santo are stars - they were ALWAYS gonna be stars as they have the natural talent for 2.
You realise how many highly talented kids have not made the grade? Top ten draft picks who are languishing in lower leagues? Go through all the drafts and for every superstar there are twenty who haven't realised their potential.
Talent, no matter how immense it may seem, needs to be nurtured. Players who are in their formative years as AFL footballers need to be taught, developed, disciplined or they become the next Ashley Sampi or Kepler Bradley.
And conversely, you might get a player like Justin Westoff, highly unfancied (pick 71), taken by a club with the right people around him to allow his talent, as raw as it is, to flourish.
Maybe Caydn Beetham, in different surroundings under a different coach who was able to reach him and get the best out of him, could've played 200 games and been an All-Australian.
To say that a player was ALWAYS going to be a star is ridiculous. Some players have a better chance due to their attitude and their ability to learn, for sure, but a lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes with every champion. There isn't a single coach in the universe who would disagree with what I'm saying.
But let me guess.....the o/s trips/junkets made him a more "rounded" individual....ppplleeeaasee....
Mark Williams DEVELOPS players cause he understand the game - not in a wishy washy "belief cloud" manner....but in a technical sense that he is able to translate to up and coming players AND supposed has-beens.
BIG DIFFERENCE - between him and man manager Grant......lucky for us I believe Lyon IS has an astute technical understanding of the game....he just needs some time.